How To Introduce a Blog

Image Credit: Blade Lazrovitch

When I first moved into my college dorm, I was armed with one pot to make ramen. However, you can only eat ramen for so long. Now that I had my own kitchen (granted I shared it with three other people), I felt comfortable experimenting with cooking. It was never my strong suit; one of my most memorable cooking attempts from my youth was forgetting to put water in microwave mac and cheese and fusing the plastic cup to the microwave dish. I definitely struggled. I still felt awkward in the kitchen and didn't trust myself with more "complicated" recipes. I even managed to give myself food poisoning by undercooking a salmon (it was not my first time cooking salmon, either).

Image Credit: Blade Lazrovitch

I didn't find my groove in the kitchen until the start of my junior year. I had moved into my own apartment, where everything in the cupboards and refrigerator was mine. I found a recipe for pasta that I was sure I couldn't mess up and checked the instructions religiously while cooking. Eventually, I had my first real meal that I had cooked by myself. I was so proud, I even sent a picture to my mom! I finally felt like cooking was something I was capable of, and now it's something I enjoy. 

I didn't suddenly become good at cooking after making one pasta dish. I experimented with tons of recipes on Budget Bytes, and not all of them were successes. There were times my noodles stuck together and became a starchy softball. There were times I made a recipe and learned that I didn't like it after I'd made family-sized portion. I've already made these mistakes and learned these lessons, so I want to share my experiences and give advice so others don't have to.

I know a lot of people feel like they don't have the time to cook for themself, or can't afford to. As a college student, I don't have a lot of time or money to invest in cooking, either. However, I've found ways to fit cooking into my budget and my schedule. I've learned where to shop for affordable ingredients, to make recipes with similar ingredients so I don't have to buy as many things, and to prep larger portions ahead of time so I can quickly heat them up throughout the week.

There are lots of benefits to being able to cook your own food. For one, I save money. I don't have to buy pre-made meals or eat out, which are more expensive options. Instead, I can make big portions of meals and take a lunch with me to school. Secondly, I'm eating healthier by making my own food. The recipes I cook all include fresh vegetables, which I wasn't eating a lot of before I started cooking. In less than six months after I started cooking, I noticed that I'd lost weight when some of my jeans were too loose on me. I didn't start cooking with the intention of losing weight, but eating healthier meals made me lose weight without even realizing. Another benefit is that I can totally customize my meals. I don't feel super confident cooking meat after giving myself food poisoning, so I can just exclude meat from a recipe and make it vegetarian. I can add as many vegetables to a recipe as I want or remove a vegetable from a recipe if I don't like it. It's an area of my life that I get to take control of.

This blog will take you through everything I've learned and all my tips for starting your cooking journey! I want to help you make easy, healthy, and affordable meals and feel accomplished in the kitchen. Follow along to learn How To Not Starve!